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Published: November 4th 2006
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Ko 1
Some of the fighters at Hua Hin's Muay Thai show were rather young to say the least! Having left Bangkok heading south to the islands of Tao, Pha Ngan and Samui, my first stop off point was Hua Hin, which according to the LP was a small seaside resort and it had a golf course, so the plan was to spend a couple of days relaxing with a round of golf and a spell on the beach.
Of course, Hua Hin turned out to be quite a strange place - almost a mixture of Eastbourne and Benidorm! It was full of pensioners, couples and European blokes in their 50's and 60's wandering hand in hand with young Thai ladies. In addition to this, the town is huge and very spread out and has an abundance of girlie bars in the streets leading to the beach. All in all, not a venue to spend more than a day or two.
I was stuck there for four days, due to it being one of Thailand's million and one public holidays and I was unable to get a through train south. The golf was a staggering thirty english pounds per round and my very limited golfing ability didn't warrant that sort of expenditure so I had to suffer a
Ko 2
The driver of the Snoop Dogg Boat Trip in Ko Pha Ngan. Snoop himself was probably up the front rolling a joint or mixing whiskey. few very tedious days. The highlight of my stay was listening to WBA beat Wolves on the internet and sniggering at some of the states that were wandering the streets, of which there was a seemingly inexhaustable supply.
I caught a train down to a nondescript town by the name of Chumphon in order to catch a ferry the next morning to the most northerly of the three islands, Ko Tao.
Anyone that was with me on a trip to Amsterdam via ferry a few years back will no doubt recall my aversion to boats and the fast boat to Ko Tao tested my sea legs to the limit. I avoided seasickness however and set about finding a bungalow by the sea at Sairee Beach.
I managed to find one set back off the beach for a good price. I soon discovered why. After returning from dinner by the sea I switched the light on in my hut and found myself staring at a lizard the size of South Wales and about six huge spiders. That was it for me, I decided there and then to stay one night and catch a ferry to Ko Phan Ngan
Ko 3
The waterfall which we quite literally sweated blood to see. in the morning.
Ko Tao is a beautiful place, but very quiet and unless you're into your diving there's little else to occupy your time, as that's all people do in Ko Tao. The electricity keeps going off, there are few roads and all in all it's a bit too rustic for my liking. Great if you want to sit on the beach and not be bothered by anyone for a few days with no amenities, but not for me. I endured the night with my animal friends with the assistance of a couple of large Chang's for courage and caught the boat early the next day.
I found a decent lodging in Hat Rin, the venue for the famous full moon parties, easily enough and spent three very enjoyable days there. Obviously the days didn't pass completely without incident and on the second day I decided to take a boat trip around the island with the intriguingly named Snoop Dogg Boat Trip company. For 500 baht you get six hours being shown remote parts of the island, drinks, a spot of snorkelling and if it takes your fancy several joints and a bucket of Thai whiskey.
Ko 4
A rather bedraggled Danny bringing up the rear in the race to reach the waterfall. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to a remote waterfall. Sadly, the flyer does not tell you to bring hiking boots and a first aid kit, both of which were very much required. The waterfall could only be reached by clambering over rocks, through water and over some rough terrain. Good thing I brought my flip-flops then! I escaped with just a cut hand, a huge bruise and one lost flip flop and I consider that a result. The other two English guys, Danny and Sam also wore the same footwear and also made use of Lisa's TCP spray for similar reasons as myself.
The nights were spent having a few drinks at the many beach bars and I had a great time, before deciding that as the full moon party was just around the corner, it was time to go before Hat Rin became too busy and expensive.
I caught a ferry to Ko Samui and headed to Chaweng Beach and I was rather surprised to find that Blackpool had moved to Thailand. The only difference between Blackpool and Ko Samui is the weather (although it hammered it down solidly for a day)
Ko 5
My hut containing the vast majority of the world's wildlife in Sairee Beach, Ko Tao and possibly the lack of violent, drunken Scotsmen.
I counted two Starbucks, a McDonalds, Pizza Hut, 24 hour Burger King (no KFC though Bradders) and about five Boots Chemists amongst the tat-selling shops, rancid girlie bars and myriad restaurants, massage parlours and travel agents. I stayed for a week and a half! Not really, I gave it three days and was glad to leave it behind.
I made the most of it however and the highlight of my time there was meeting some very nice and amusing people and winning the pool tournament at The Islander pub. The comepetion wasn't the strongest, but a win's a win and it gave my flagging funds a much needed boost to the tune of 2000 baht.
One of the people that I met in Pha Ngan rocked up at Chaweng and left the next morning, although I also met people that had done three months solid there. It's certainly an acquired taste and quite expensive compared to the other islands. The nightlife is pretty good if you like that sort of thing and I adopted a "when in Rome" attitude from which my liver is still to recover fully from.
Ko 6
View from the beachside restaurant at Sairee Beach, Ko Tao Myself and Mick, an Irish chap that I met at The Islander hired some bikes to see the rest of the island, but got caught in a tropical storm, which lasted the whole day and we had to seek refuge in the Samui Aquarium and strangely, Tiger Show. A surreal experience that lasted much longer than was necessary, due to the weather.
From Samui, I caught a taxi-bus, coach, ferry, coach again and then sleeper train back to Bangkok. All in all it took twenty hours to get from A to B and after one night in Bangkok I'm now about to catch another fourteen hour sleeper train north to Chang Mai, where I hope to spend a few budget conscious days. I'm running out of cash rapidly, so am now on a strict budget until I reach Brisbane.
Those of you interested in my medical condition will be fascinated to know that this week's drug of choice is Zenzera Albendazole, which is a broad spectrum Anthelmintic. Evidently this will deal with the rancid worms that I've acquired from the food either here or in India. Very nice too!
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Hamstersley
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Mmm worms eh?
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better....